Dr. Donald Leon Pippin, a man who loved God and people, went to be with his Savior on February 17, 2017, in Palm Bay, Florida, at the age of 83. Leon had an extraordinary passion to serve his Lord and extreme love for his family. He touched so many lives with his charismatic personality. His desire was to exalt Christ and not himself. He was an avid reader and enjoyed spending time in the nursing home ministry sharing Bible studies and friendship with lonely people there.
Leon, a sharecropper's son, was born in Oran, MO, on January 30, 1934.
A son so fearful of his father that he cringes at the very mention of his fathers name. When asked a question, he freezes and becomes mute. His father curses and says, "Poot, there cain't be a god, 'cause if there was, he'd a gave ya some brains." He tries to answer, but his tongue feels glued to the roof of his mouth. His father came home drunk one night, grabbed his shotgun, cocked it, aimed it at the uncle who lived with them, and threatened, "I'm gonna shoot ya dead." The son scrambled under his bed and said, "I had heard the preacher say, 'When you're in danger, pray.' I wish the preacher was here to do that for us now." The son wanted a pet, so he caught the smallest goat in the pen and carried him to his second-story bedroom. When he asked his brother Dick if he should call him Buck, Dick replied, "I think you better call him 'dead,' 'cause that's what you 'n' him's gonna be when Dad finds this room all tore up!" The shy sharecropper's son experiencing little closeness, communication, and religious emphasis in his childhood, feels lost within himself. Not knowing how to cope, his crippling fear and claustrophobia cause him to withdraw into himself and makes the verbal separation wider between them. Paralyzing fear of his father does not make him harbor hatred, contempt, or even disrespect for his father, only abject fear. Unknown to this sharecropper's son, however, God is in the background guiding and protecting him through the fearful uncertainties. Memoir fans will find the adventures of this farm boy entertaining and insightful when he's with his younger brother reading Big Little Books, pole vaulting the creeks, waiting for haircuts, and watching the cotton being sucked up out of the wagon. One night he sees an advertisement on the back of a Christian magazine. And then a small gold crown in the ad catches his attention. The title's metaphor, Naked With Clothes On, suggests the vulnerability of the author, and yet the power to be independent when following his own convictions as seen in the story of the wounded sparrow. The survival memoir, with the subtitle Finding Faith Stronger Than Fear, is an easy-read. Full of pathos, humor, and entertaining stories to delight anyone, the book will make you cry, laugh, and inspire you as you follow the son's attempt to change his paralyzing fear to liberating faith.
He later moved with his parents to Nashville MI, where he graduated from high school in 1951.
He attended King's College in Wilmington, DE and graduated in 1955 where he met his amazing Godly wife Emily, who has enriched his life for over 61 years. The two were married 1955, moved to Silver Spring, MD, then to Newton, MA. He taught high school English and obtained his M.Ed. from the University of MA in Boston. In 1966 he moved his family to Fort Wayne, IN, where he taught at Fort Wayne Bible College, Ball State University, Blackhawk Christian school and Huntington College. After obtaining a Ph.D. Ed.D. from Bob Jones University in SC in 1996, he and Emily moved to Palm Bay, Florida.
Leon was a retired professor, who rose from his humble beginnings to earn four college degrees. He was a masterful storyteller and had written a full-length play, dramatic monologues, haiku, and devotional articles for CBN. His most recent work included a weekly blog at Guardedhearts.net as well as his published memoir entitled Naked With Clothes On. He and Emily enjoyed the times they spent together directing and producing plays and musicals in churches and schools. Leon challenged his students to excellence, not only in their academic pursuits but in their relationship with Jesus as well.
Leon's goal was to bring glory to God in all he said and did. He had the privilege to know and serve the Lord for 69 years.
His heart's verse was "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings." (Philippians 3:10)
Leon will be greatly missed by his wife Emily, his four children, Jeanne, Don, Greg, and Brett, his eight grandchildren, his six great grandchildren, and all who were touched by his faithfulness to Christ.
Family will receive friends on Friday from 10-11:00 AM, followed by funeral services at 11:30 at Davis-Seawinds Funeral Home, Melbourne, FL.
Published in FLORIDA TODAY on Feb. 23, 2017
